Superbugs in decline despite doctors failing on hygiene
Published Date:
15 January 2009
By LYNDSAY MOSS
RATES of the superbugs MRSA and Clostridium difficile are falling in Scotland – despite doctors still failing to comply with hand-hygiene rules, new reports revealed yesterday.
Figures showed that nurses were complying with hand-hygiene guidance, with a score of 95 per cent, against a target of 90 per cent. For doctors the figure was 84 per cent.
Other figures yesterday showed rates of superbugs were falling.
There were 149 cases of MRSA between July and September – the lowest since monitoring began in 2003. The figure was down from 185 the previous quarter and 210 in the same period in 2007.
Cases of C difficile also fell to 1,433 – down 17 per cent from the previous quarter, when there were 1,729 cases, and down 2 per cent from the same time last year.
Health secretary Nicola Sturgeon welcomed the falling number of cases.
The full article contains 153 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
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Last Updated:
14 January 2009 10:36 PM
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Source:
The Scotsman
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Location:
Edinburgh
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Related Topics:
Hospital superbugs
